Cruz Hewitt's ambitious Australian Open hopes are shattered after falling at first hurdle in qualifying

Cruz Hewitt's dreams of making a hugely intriguing debut at the Australian Open has come crashing down after he was defeated 6-3, 6-3 by Michael Zheng.

The son of two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, the young Aussie had a wealth of experience and prestige in his camp watching on as he targeted a the hugely ambitious feat of making it to his maiden Grand Slam. He attempted qualifying last year but was ultimately unable to advance. This year was a second chance with him given a wildcard.

He was thrown in at the deep end almost instantly, having to survive a brace of break points before managing to hold. It was relatively routine from this point before the American was first to get a break on the board. This was in the midst of a four-game winning streak which saw him come from 3-2 down to clinching the first set in rampant fashion.

It looked like Hewitt was firmly on the back foot as Zheng added another two games to his purple patch. However, the 17-year-old was not going down without a fight. He secured a break of his own to get the match back on serve, but this was wasted instantly when Zheng once again took control of this tennis match, sailing into a 4-1 lead. Hewitt won two games in a row, which included a break with his fourth opportunity in an elongated game. Once again, he was unable to get back on level terms with the resilient Zheng keeping his young prodigy at arms length ahead of wrapping up victory in the first round, dampening any hopes of Hewitt playing in front of a home crowd at Melbourne Park.

“There’s not much more I could ask for – I’m super excited,” Zheng said after the match. “This is what you work for in these full stadiums. I still had a lot of fans cheering for me, but even if the fans were cheering against me, it’s still an unbelievable experience."

Hewitt made a total of 37 unforced errors. This was his undoing, with Zheng racking up just 14. Nevertheless, he was in full praise of the Aussie. “He (Hewitt) retuned really well on the games that he broke me," he admitted. "He was doing a good job attacking my second serve … but I just kept calm and tried to take it one point at a time.”

The packed ANZ Arena shows they hype and hope surrounding this young talent, who boasts a very distinguished surname with a lot of expectation and pressure already firmly placed on his tender shoulders. Chants of 'Let's go, Hewitt, let's go!' rang around the court, but the fans support in the end would not be enough to see Hewitt replicate that on the court.

It is expected that he will next feature in the boy's singles tournament at the Australian Open, hoping to make more progress than last year when he failed to make it past the opening round.